Starring in Amy Lanasa s Twitch, opening Friday at the Black Box Theatre are, from left, Lila LeCuyer, Grace Marks and Daniel Delaney. The tale of a mysterious teen malady inflamed by media frenzy is described as a poignant drama with lots of laughs.

The world premiere of "Twitch," an intriguing new work by national-award-winning playwright Amy Lanasa that explores a mysterious teen malady inflamed by media frenzy, will be at 8 p.m. Friday at the Black Box Theatre.

"The play follows a group of already marginalized high school students who begin to develop tics and Tourette's-like symptoms, a condition they name 'the twitch,'" said Lanasa.

Lanasa, who describes her play as "a poignant drama with lots of laughs," said she was inspired by recent real-life events in Le Roy, N.Y., where a mystery illness which led to an apparent epidemic of teen tics was first linked to the environment and then attributed to more complex causes.

"Twitch has been one of the most fun plays I've ever written, if for no other reason than it's about high school kids," she said.

Performances, through March 17 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall, will be at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, March 10 and 17 and at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14. Tickets are $10, $9 for students and seniors over 65 and $7 for all seats on Thursday. For reservations, call (575) 523-1223.